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NBA Coach Approval Ratings - March
This NBA season, we’re giving you, SportsNation, the opportunity to cast your vote of approval, or disapproval, of the job your favorite team’s head coach is doing. Is he molding a winning team and inspiring championship-level play from his team? Or is he constantly tinkering with the offense and defense resulting in sloppy, erratic play? Is he making good decisions on the court and saying all the right things off the court? Or is he making crucial mistakes that cost the team games and then deflecting the blame?
The following are the latest results from the 2005-06 SportsNation NBA Head Coach Approval Ratings:
| NBA Coach Approval Ratings - March |
Lawrence
Frank
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0%
Team: New Jersey Nets
Record: 49-33
Votes: 0
Nets pick good time to peak
New Jersey was just four games over .500 on the morning of March 12 after losing five of its previous six games. The Nets haven't lost since, winning 11 straight games to finish March, including victories over Dallas, Phoenix and on the road against Washington and Detroit. The emergence of Nenad Krstic as a consistent threat in the post has meant the world to New Jersey's Big Three of Kidd, Carter and Jefferson. Vote
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Scott
Skiles
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0%
Team: Milwaukee Bucks
Record: 40-42
Votes: 0
Bulls take advantage of lesser opponents, still finish below .500 in March
The Bulls appear to be comfortable in their own skin. En route to a 7-9 month, Chicago defeated just one team with a winning record (New Jersey), but had no problem with lesser opponents like New York, Atlanta, Portland, Boston and Charlotte. The Bulls easily could've won games against Eastern heavyweights, Cleveland and Miami, only to lose by one point in each game. Vote
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Mike
D'Antoni
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0%
Team: New York Knicks
Record: 23-59
Votes: 0
Poor defense and return of Amare seems to throw Suns off track slightly
On the surface, an 11-6 month doesn't appear too bad. But for the Phoenix Suns, there are a few holes to patch. The return of Amare Stoudemire from his knee injury appeared to throw off the team's rhythm more than help it. In addition, Phoenix allowed over 109 points per game and 49 percent shooting. The Suns suffered some bad losses - to the Spurs by 24, Nets by 38 and Bucks by 22. But with Stoudemire possibly out for the remainder of the season after his unsuccessful return, maybe the Suns can get back into gear knowing that they'll have to move forward without him. Vote
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Larry
Brown
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0%
Team: Charlotte Bobcats
Record: 26-56
Votes: 0
Brown and Marbury continue war of words as losses mount
While Larry Brown and Stephon Marbury continue to agree to disagree about how Brown is running the team, among other things, the Knicks just keep on losing. On the positive, the Knicks won three more games in March (4) than they did in February (1), including a win over Detroit. But they also lost to Charlotte and Toronto, and lost the final seven games of the month. Vote
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Rick
Carlisle
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0%
Team: Dallas Mavericks
Record: 60-22
Votes: 0
Pacers struggle but still hang on to seventh spot in East
If you watched the Pacers in March, you know exactly why they can't shake free of the .500 mark. They didn't win consecutive games all month and finished the month with their first three-game losing streak since the end of January. This season, Indiana is a combined 0-9 versus Boston, Toronto and Atlanta, none of which will make the playoffs. Vote
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Mike
Dunleavy
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0%
Team: Los Angeles Clippers
Record: 47-35
Votes: 0
Clippers solid, if not spectacular, as playoff drought nears end
The Clippers are looking pretty good now to reach the playoffs for the first time since 1997. They went 10-6 in March although they only had one high-quality victory (Spurs). However, the Clippers didn't suffer any terrible home losses, either, and have been able to remain in the No. 5 spot in the West. That would net them a matchup with the Mavericks in the first round currently, so a minor slip in April wouldn't be a total disappointment since they would get the third-seeded Nuggets instead. Vote
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Phil
Jackson
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0%
Team: Los Angeles Lakers
Record: 45-37
Votes: 0
Kobe putting Lakers on his back toward another playoff berth
Los Angeles went 10-7 in March and in comfortably in the 7th spot in the Western Conference playoff race entering April. Through March, Kobe Bryant had led the Lakers in scoring in 26 straight games. His leadership help the Lakers beat Detroit at home and win in San Antonio. However, on the nights where Kobe doesn't get much help, they are capable of losing to the two worst teams in the conference (Seattle and Portland). Vote
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Mike
Woodson
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0%
Team: Atlanta Hawks
Record: 26-56
Votes: 0
Joe Johnson outstanding, Hawks not so much in March
While the Hawks' poor season continues, Joe Johnson is playing hard to earn that big contract. In March, Johnson averaged 23.8 points and 7.7 assists per game, but Atlanta finished just 4-12. Three of those four wins came by one or two points. The road was unkind to the Hawks, as they lost their final seven away from Philips Arena. Vote
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Byron
Scott
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0%
Team: New Orleans Hornets
Record: 38-44
Votes: 0
Hornets hanging onto playoff hopes by a thread after dreadful March
New Orleans/Oklahoma City may have run out of gas. The Hornets have just a couple more weeks to prove otherwise. Separate losing streaks of eight and four games put the Hornets behind the eight-ball for the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs. Despite their difficulties maintaining a healthy roster, they entered April just two games behind Sacramento for that No. 8 seed. Vote
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Flip
Saunders
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0%
Team: Washington Wizards
Record: 42-40
Votes: 0
Pistons suffer worst monthly record of season, still quite respectable
Most teams would welcome an 11-5 monthly record, but the Pistons aren't like most teams. Those five losses were the most they've had in any month this season. But they still have the best record in the NBA entering the final month of the regular season. Among those five losses was a defeat to Larry Brown and the Knicks. But the Pistons did beat Miami and Dallas in March, to prove they are the team to beat. Vote
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George
Karl
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0%
Team: Denver Nuggets
Record: 44-38
Votes: 0
Carmelo and Nuggets continue to be class of Northwest Division
Denver went 11-5 in March, including a 5-2 road trip, and continued to easily outdistance the rest of the Northwest Division. Carmelo Anthony is a huge reason why. His maturation and consistency hasn't gone unnoticed. Anthony scored at least 30 points in eight of his last 10 games in March, as the Nuggets beat the likes of Detroit, Memphis and San Antonio. Vote
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Doc
Rivers
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0%
Team: Boston Celtics
Record: 33-49
Votes: 0
Celtics struggle to put wins together
Boston continues to have difficulty putting together a winning streak. The Celtics have yet to win more than two in a row this season, which is quite amazing for a team playing over .400 ball. Boston only got two wins against winning teams all month (Indiana and Washington), but the Celtics have been able to beat the teams they should beat, for the most part. Vote
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Gregg
Popovich
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0%
Team: San Antonio Spurs
Record: 63-19
Votes: 0
Spurs remain consistent, hold on to top spot in West
San Antonio went 12-4 in March as the Spurs continue to hold off Dallas for home-court advantage in the Western Conference playoffs. The Spurs enjoyed quality wins against Dallas, Phoenix twice and the Clippers and Lakers on the road. And San Antonio's defense remained the key as the Spurs allowed 90.9 points per game in March. Vote
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Rick
Adelman
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0%
Team: Houston Rockets
Record: 34-48
Votes: 0
Kings jump into eighth spot as April begins
Sacramento's 11-6 March, combined with a poor month by the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, has the Kings in command for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. It was their second straight winning month and it featured some very good wins. The Kings knocked off the Grizzlies, Mavericks, Lakers, Cavaliers and Nets - the latter two on the road. A very impressive month for a team that needed it. Vote
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Nate
McMillan
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0%
Team: Portland Trail Blazers
Record: 21-61
Votes: 0
Trail Blazers limping toward finish line
Portland looks like a team that's thrown in the towel on the 2005-06 season. The Blazers lost their final nine games of March, and 10 of their 13 losses in the month came by double digits. Interestingly, their only two wins came against the Lakers and Suns. Nate McMillan doesn't know who he's going to get contributions from on any given night as evidenced by the fact that Portland had six different leading scorers in the final seven games of the month. Vote
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Eddie
Jordan
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0%
Team: Philadelphia 76ers
Record: 38-44
Votes: 0
Wizards maintain position in playoff race
Gilbert Arenas has the Wizards on track for yet another spot in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 first-round playoff series. This time, they would face the Cavaliers if they can hold onto the 5th seed. Washington has looked very impressive on some nights and only two of its eight March losses came against teams that currently would miss the playoffs (Boston and Houston); and those came by a combined 3 points. Vote
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Mike
Brown
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0%
Team: Cleveland Cavaliers
Record: 50-32
Votes: 0
Cavs clinch first playoff berth in eight years
LeBron James was 13 years old the last time the Cavaliers reached the playoffs. With a convincing victory over Dallas, Cleveland clinched its first playoff berth since 1998 and is showing signs of progress as the playoffs near. As Cleveland appeared to be on its way to another post-All Star letdown, James took charge and wouldn't let the team falter. Flip Murray has also added a nice dimension at the defensive end on many nights. Cleveland finished March on a six-game winning streak. Vote
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Jerry
Sloan
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0%
Team: Utah Jazz
Record: 41-41
Votes: 0
Now healthy, Jazz still in mix for final playoff spot
With Carlos Boozer healthy and Andrei Kirilenko playing his very best, the Jazz are trying to rally for the final playoff berth in the West. But they'll have to rally and pass a couple teams in order to do so. In March, they enjoyed victories against the Clippers, Suns and Nuggets, but effectively canceled them out with losses to Charlotte, Seattle and Orlando. Vote
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Stan
Van Gundy
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0%
Team: Orlando Magic
Record: 36-46
Votes: 0
Heat struggle with consistency without Shaq
Miami did nothing in November to quiet the preseason talk of Pat Riley taking over for Stan Van Gundy in the future. Playing without Shaquille O'Neal for all but two games, Miami has really scuffled to find its rhythm so far this season. But the Heat still lead the Southeast Division, which doesn't appear too strong after a month of play. Dwyane Wade has been all-World, but finding a consistent secondary option has not been easy. Alonzo Mourning has filled in very capably for Shaq, but this team will be much better off when so much isn't asked of Alonzo. Vote
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